Press Release

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights is deeply concerned about the work conditions of about 1500 teachers working in UNRWA on a basis of miserable special contracts, in a blatant violation to their economic and social rights. PCHR is calling UNRWA to reconsider the above-mentioned system of contracts in a way that complies with international standards that ensure and organize the rights of employees.

For more than 5 years, UNRWA has been following an economization policy in its program for assisting Palestinian refugees, which includes a decrease in its services in the claim of the financial difficulties it faces. The decrease includes all health, social and educational services, notably freezing employee salaries, complicating the procedures of transferring ill people to hospitals and following a policy of limited-term appointments.

The number of limited-term employees is more than 1600 people, including about 1500 in education sector alone. During the last two years, the annually contracted teachers have organized several strikes in a protest against their work conditions, and calling for giving them opportunities equal to those of their long-term colleagues in salary, holidays and savings. After ebb and flow in negotiations between limited-term employees committee and the administration of UNRWA, accompanied with strikes, some improvements have been made to the terms of contracts. But work conditions still do not achieve the employee’s minimum legitimate rights, which are included in international conventions, notably those which are concerned with the employee’s right in to get a fair salary and reward when the values of work is equal, and his/her right in social insurance and promotion opportunities.

It should be noted that these teachers get a salary equal to half of the salary which their long-term colleagues get. There is a discrimination between them in their family allowances. They are also deprived of vocational degrees in contrast to their long-term colleagues. They lack vocational security as they work on the basis of temporary annual contracts which are renewed annually or biannually, that it makes them feel threatened to loose their jobs at anytime.

PCHR is deeply concerned about the policy which UNRWA has been following in appointments on the basis of short-term contracts, and calls the organization to cancel such system as it undermines the teacher’s rights, and consequently affects the educational process negatively and decrease the teacher’s ability to contribute to such process positively. PCHR is calling UNRWA to bear its responsibilities completely towards Palestinian refugees through proceeding with providing qualitative services for them until a just solution for their issue is reached.